Nonambar News - Socialist Party Election Interview
In our third election special Nonambar News has interviewed the leader of the Socialist Party - Willy Brandt. Mr Brandt discussed several issues with us such as his time in government, the costs of nationalisation and the somewhat anti business rhetoric of his party. Whilst assuring us that many speculations were wrong, Mr Brandt did fail to give figures on key issues and changed his mind about the reasons for doing that several times. Overall, Mr Brandt was reassuring that the Socialists have a plan for the future of Falleentium. ' Time in Government ''Originally posted by Nonambar News: '''Nonambar News Jo Coburn:First off then, I'd like to thank Mr Brandt for coming here in our third election special interview. The tensions are rising as the election campaign builds and people put themselves forward for the highest office in the Empire. Mr Brandt, how exactly do you feel your time in government has gone? Willy Brandt: Thank you, it's a pleasure to be here Jo. The past four years have seen the most pro-active and progressive government of this century. Reforms in the tax system, slashing the deficit, creating a more equal society. It was a refreshing wind of change in politics, and UKIP turned out to be a reliable ally to make needed change. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: So they did, but there has been remarks across the spectrum that your party perhaps held UKIP under yoke and chain. Some have even called it the 'Brandt test'. If you didn't like the policy it didn't see the light of day. Do you agree with this? Willy Brandt: I find that nonsensical theory at best. Our government with the PRM was centrist and progressive, an amalgamation of ideas and liberal proposals which were in consensus between all members of the coalition. Everyone had to compromise to bring stable government to the country and this was what we did. Negotiations took place between the coalition partners and everyone had to give and take on some issues. Vague Manifesto? Originally posted by Nonambar News: Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Of course, moving on from that Mr Brandt, I've read your manifesto. Don't you think it's just a little bit vague? Willy Brandt Please elaborate, our manifesto is a large document with plans to tackle a wide array of issues through policy proposals. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: It's a wish list Mr Brandt, you've said what you want but you've provided in many cases almost no mention of how you'll do it. No mention of the cost either for that matter. Willy Brandt It's not a wish list, it's a serious political program and a legitimate party platform. The right believes in the politics of austerity to create a false sense of economy stability by promoting this notion of "balancing the budget". Well, in 30 years of right-wing governments austerity hasn't worked, we have a gaping deficit, our social services are a shamble and our country is more economically unequal than ever. It wasn't until a solid progressive government took power that we saw any hint of change for a brighter future. The Socialists believe that the greatest way to restore the economy is through investment into the people of this country. A stimulus package into infrastructure, into pensions, into health and education. For a country at ease with itself, a country which guarantees a standard of living for its people, a country which gives security to the young and old alike, is not only a country that can count itself on the bright side of history from a moral perspective -- but also from an economic one. A strong middle class and working class that can spend into our businesses and services shall reinvigorate our stagnant economy. Not through tax breaks to the mega-rich and corporations, not through funding foreign wars and wasting hundreds of billions of Fall and countless lives in military entanglements -- but through investment into the common man. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Mr Brandt, you've not answered my question. All you've stated is that it's not a wishlist and that you intend to spend money. That does not tell me how you intend to complete all these manifesto pledges. It does not tell me how much these pledges will cost, and quite frankly voters will want to know. Willy Brandt: Committees are the way government assesses these issues, Miss Coburn. To make a blunt statement on how much is needed and it's feasibility without the scrutiny and independent oversight of such committees would be irresponsible. We promise the working people of this nation that any cost shall be a net gain for the common man, for economic security is not only good for the individual, but for the country as a whole. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Mr Brandt, you're a mainstream political party. You've been in government, you've got a party structure. Why have your party experts not looked into the possible cost of these policies? Willy Brandt: We have speculated on these issues for the past four years, Mrs. Coburn, you shouldn't have the idea that we're cluelessly approaching these issues. We can guarantee you and the people of this country that this party would not senselessly increase government expenditure without solid plans for alternative revenue streams to bolster these. Growth will come from investment and several current taxes, primarily those involving the corporations and the mega-rich that have been given a free pass for too long in this country, shall be reviewed. We however believe in the transparency of government and the integrity of independent committees which can shed a non-partisan light on the costs. That is the best approach in our opinion, and seemingly that of every other party's manifesto. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: So then we come back to the prospect Mr Brandt of your manifesto being vague. You're saying you've speculated on the cost, why is that speculation not in the manifesto? Last words on this issue. Willy Brandt: It would be insincere to give a speculative number and then turn around to give another. We do not intend to mislead whatsoever, we can guarantee the investments we have promised, which will always benefit the common man. The costs and degree of investment shall be decided with the scrutiny of experts who can best give a transparent picture of these questions. As said, we will never do something to harm the working people of this country. We are their party, the party of the lower class, the party of the middle class and the unions -- not the party of the mega-wealthy like our contemporaries. Terms of credit for business Originally posted by Nonambar News: Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Mr Brandt, in your manifesto your party states that you will provide better terms of credit where the business justifies it, what exactly is your checklist that justifies a business? Willy Brandt Our party believes in the merits of entrepreneurship and unlike our detractors would like to claim, who'd brand us as a communist cell of the RF, in the merits of business and moral capitalism. A Socialist government would support businesses which uphold the values of a free and solidary society. A few of these requirements that would justify our support would be whether it is socially beneficial, economically viable, whether it pollutes our waters, air or land, whether it upholds our safety and consumer standards, an achievement of the Socialists in the penultimate parliament if I may add, whether it guarantees good wages to its workers, whether the rift between the common earner and the top of the company aren't oppressive, etc. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Might I ask just quickly why this wasn't in the manifesto? Willy Brandt We've started a lot of this process during our last government, through the National Authority Competition Act and through the actions of the Department of Economic Affairs to start an aggressive publicity campaign against the immoral practices of tax evasion and outsourcing. This is an ongoing project of our administration, one which we wish to finish. The elemental aspects of this are not in one concise paragraph of our manifesto, but they are merged into our greater approach for a National Economic Plan which is outlayed in our manifesto. The issue at hand is multifaceted in nature, and thus finds relevance in many of our other proposals, which is why it is engraved into the rest of the manifesto. On the subject of the requirements for businesses to acquire such credit, the list is rather large and would take up an unnecessarily large part of our manifesto if outlayed in one go. That is why we have spread these requirements, such as the environmental protection part of it, into the other themes of our platform. The manifesto must be easily digested and straight-forward, this is not a case of vagueness as you seem to have implied, but in terms of making politics more accessible to the common man. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Mr Brandt, I'm afraid I'm going to have to correct you. The term vague quite simply means unclear which is exactly what your manifesto is in that sense because it does not outline what a business needs to do in order to justify credit support from a Brandt Administration. We have established though that you do indeed have a criteria so we'll move on. Willy Brandt A small comment on that, we are not repetitive robotic politicians such as Rompuybot 3000, who has regurgitated his joke of a slogan a million times -- strong and stable, strong and stable, strong and stable -- repetitiveness is not our business. How much will nationalisation of cost? Originally posted by Nonambar News: Nonambar News Jo Coburn: The Socialist party has stated that it will nationalise businesses and just one area that your administration would take into government control is water supply. Do you know how much that will cost? Willy Brandt: For decades successive governments have gutted public ownership and de-nationalised pretty much everything that they could get their hands on. Not only does this cost billions of Fall in revenue to the government which it could then invest into the people, but it also puts people's jobs, wages and securities at the mercy of undemocratic and unrelentless market forces. That is why we have seen such abhorrent degree of unemployment in this country for so long, because when push comes to shove in an economic sense, the magnate and the corporatist grabs his plate and leaves the table without the slightest regard for the damage it does to it's workers. The Socialists believe in the integrity of public ownership, democratising industries for the benefit of the many, not the few. The nationalisation of core industries such as water and the railways, undoubtedly profitable and essential industries to any society, shall not only bolster revenue for the government in the long term, but it will also serve for a direct approach to enforcing federal standards and tackling inequalities and wage-suppression in these sectors. A Socialist government will cooperate with local authorities to assess the costs, the risks and thereby the feasibility of nationalisation of these industries. We believe that such actions will ultimately benefit the common man, the worker who toils night and day for a dignified living. The Socialists are a forward-looking party, we look at the future and the long-term solutions that will make said future better for working people. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Mr Brandt, before I dispute the claims you've just made, you've failed to give me an answer, how much will it cost? Willy Brandt That has to be assessed with local authorities and committees, Mrs. Coburn, giving faulty figures is not our desired approach. We can only guarantee that any action we take shall be thoroughly reviewed and evaluated before taken into action -- with the interest of the workers at heart. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: It sounds to me like you don't know. Can you just confirm that, you don't know how much your nationalisation plan will cost? Willy Brandt: We have rough estimates, but there is so much our party experts can do without the consultation and pragmatic evaluation of independent committees, economic think tanks and the data of local authorities. We could give you a possibly faulty sum, but what good would that be to anyone? Nonambar News Jo Coburn: If you can't do anything without the consultation of economic think tanks why has your party not approached these think tanks? Willy Brandt: You missed two organs from that equation Mrs. Coburn, independent committees and local authorities. Heck, even trade unions and workers organisations have a large say in this. This will be a joint effort to bring the country together on all administrative levels, not something we can magically decide with our limited resources. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Quite frankly Mr Brandt it isn't good enough, you're proposing to the people of this Empire that you want to skip around the Empire nationalising industries but have given them no estimate as to how much it will cost. Would 50 billion sound about right to you? Willy Brandt That wouldn't be an unreasonable estimate, but I would not attach myself to such speculation. And no, we don't want to skip around the country nationalising industries, that is at best an unfair characterisation, the gross levels of inequality caused by these sprees of privatisation must be tackled for once and for all, and this is the right approach. Pragmatic and sensible evaluation with the aid and support of involved organisations across the board, both public and private. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: It wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption? The experts we've approached have suggested it could cost anywhere above 100 hundred billion fall. That's one fifth of the treasury Mr Brandt, and you've just said half that figure is not 'unreasonable' Willy Brandt: Nationalisation is a costly process in the short term, and there is little I can do with the opinions of nameless experts without 1. The knowledge of our approach. And 2. The almost childish disregard of the economic benefits of public ownership in the long term. Our experts have estimated a long term net benefit of the nationalisation of a select core industries currently in the predatory hands of corporate conglomerates. But as said, this is all speculation so far, we shall only deal in concrete figures which shall always benefit the common man. Is that a satisfactory answer to your speculation which somehow must expose our own speculations, Mrs. Coburn? Nonambar News Jo Coburn: That will be up to the Falleen people to decide Mr Brandt. Just to note, our experts come from Nonambar University and the Avalon School of Economics. Whilst we did have further questions asking you about the possible cost of your promised National Health Service, but I imagine you don't know? It's a simple yes or no answer Mr Brandt. Willy Brandt: As a matter of fact, we have estimated that the yearly budget of the NHS shall amount to 4.33 Billion Fall a year, however this is the sum we have calculated with the help of experts -- reality however often depicts a different picture which may be either slightly lower or higher than the aforementioned figure. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: 4.33 Billion. A figure about ten times lower than what experts at the Avalon school have predicted. Willy Brandt: I would suggest those experts re-evaluate their estimates, for they must have misplaced a comma in their calculations. 40 billion Fall a year is unrealistic, but it gives a gross misunderstanding of the proportions of the Falleen economy. The countries roughly 30,000 hospitals, with a planned launch staff of 680 thousand hospital staff, 220 thousand GP's, will cost roughly 57 Fall per head to run. We have looked at this issue, just as the others, very thoroughly. The fact that slight fluctuation in our estimates are inevitable are the reason we have not set a fixed number on the manifesto and why we need the consultation and joint approach across all administrative levels. The good experts of these universities are unfortunately very mistaken in their estimation, such having been reviewed in part by the Parliamentary Budget Committee. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: So you do have some figures, I’m sure many will cast their judgement on that one in the coming days. So we’ll move on for now. Anti Business? Originally posted by Nonambar News: Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Onto the final question Mr Brandt, your party has claimed that it will have stringent control over where factories are built. What exactly are you going to do to reassure industries that your party is not anti-business? Willy Brandt Our country suffers from inequality on many levels, one of those being the interstate level. Prosperous states, through their already established wealth, syphon economic appeal, jobs and wealth away from our least prosperous states. We believe in fairness, equality and solidarity for all our people, and this is something which must be tackled for a better future. Our approach to this issue is the establishment of classifications for regions in our country. Areas in want and despair, riddled by unemployment and low social mobility shall be made development, special development and intermediate areas depending on the degree of aid these regions need. These classifications shall make these regions more appealing and profitable for business to operate in through the facilitation of government grants and licenses to operate in these areas. Those companies who deliberately don't expand or further spread business to other parts of the country shall have relatively less favourable treatment from the government compared to those who do expand into these less fortunate development areas -- it is not a punishment, it is not anti-business, it's pro fair and ethical business which helps those communities who need it the most. With this approach we seek to kickstart the economies of less fortunate communities across the country. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: But in your manifesto Mr Brandt you say 'stringent control' instead what you're proposing to me is that you'll provide incentives. Which one is it? Willy Brandt: Because that too is a part of our approach, stringent is not a negative adjective Mrs. Coburn, it means holding up to public scrutiny for the benefit of the people. With control we mean that we shall be more cautious with the granting of similar benefits and licenses to companies who wish to start their businesses in already wealthy areas, in comparison to those who help our society by kickstarting the economies of less fortunate communities. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: Mr Brandt, I'd advise you not to argue definitions with me. Stringent means strict, precise and exacting. Three words that don't sound very positive to investors looking at this country when you might possibly be in charge. Willy Brandt: I was not disputing the literal definition of the word, merely what it means in this specific context. I wish to make it clear to investors them that as long as their practices are ethical and fair to the largest market in the free world, that I shall be no less than a loyal friend who shall champion their success. Any of those who do not come with those intentions, will find no friend in me. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: What can investors that do attempt to come with sinister expectations expect from a Brandt Administration? Willy Brandt: They can expect the full power of the law to curb their malicious and immoral practices. If I was one of those powerful men who have the right-wing parties in their pockets, who wish to mistreat, abuse and exploit the Falleen people. Who want to suppress wages, outsource people's livelihood, pollute our environment and put our safety at risk to maximise their profits -- then I would be very afraid of a Brandt administration as well. Nonambar News Jo Coburn: I'm sure to many that is good to hear. Thank you for coming to meet with us today Mr Brandt. It's been a pleasure. Willy Brandt: Likewise Mrs. Coburn, it was a pleasure. Category:The Imperial Constitution